Not necessarily. The 4+3 isn't a smooth shifting transmission, and the 700r4 is a (cheap) valve body from being fully manual if you care to go that far. Honestly, with V8 torque the automatic isn't the penalty-box it is behind smaller engines. It was good enough for Rodger Johnson to win multiple national championships for about a decade.

Just an FYI for potential project c4 vette buyers based on my experience...the firm asking price is usually 2 or 3 times what sellers will actually take. Moreso than most used project cars.

Probably didn't need to be said. Snagged my piece of E36 m3 c4 for $500 after they had it listed for $1700 firm. Took them 3 weeks to come to that conclusion, but pictures of Ben Franklin laid on hood convinced them. They even threw in the harbor freight blue tarp covering it.

Is there a go to spot to maybe search for c4's that are slightly more expensive but maybe someone has already done some track mods to? How much effort/cost is involved in switching from auto to manual in these?

The effort to swap wouldn't be any worse than any other car. The 4+3 isn't particularly desirable, so I'd guess it's not expensive; however, the Dana 44 that was behind them is. The ZF 6 speed is pretty pricy though.

Honestly, I'd suggest finding a Z51 that fits your price range, but don't worry about what trans is in it. Drive it, then decide if it's worth swapping - and I'd suggest driving a 4+3 car before you go through the expense and effort of doing that swap.

1.94-turn lock-to-lock steering, stiffer springs, extra cooling fan. There are variations across the years, but generally a Z51 will have the lower rear gears too.

In the case of my 85 Z51, even though it's an automatic it has the lower rear gears(don't remember the ratio offhand), and also cloth sport seats. Those are separate options from the Z51 package, but were frequently paired with it. The Z51 also included 16"x9.5" wheels instead of 16"x9"(even though stock tire size was 255/50-16 for both), but you'll probably want to swap to 18" wheels if you really want to stuff some(315) rubber under the car.

I have a site bookmarked somewhere that has all the specs listed. I'll see if I can find it.

EDIT: This site lists spring rate, wheel rate, swaybar size, and wheel size across the C4 years and Z51 vs. non-Z51. While this site gives the following generic overview of the differences from year to year:

1996 models: Heavy duty springs and bushings, Bilstein shocks, and larger sway bars. Heavy duty cooling options and fast ratio steering had become standard on all models at this point. Non-Grand Sport models also received 275/40/17 size tires on all four wheels instead of 285/40/17s in the rear, and 255,/45/17s in the front.

Option Restrictions: 1987-90 models required a manual transmission; Not available on a Convertible until 1996; 1996 models also required power seats, and Performance Axle Ratio, if ordered on an automatic car. Not available with FX3 or F45.

No doubt introduced to provide a suspension option for those who demanded a convertible or automatic car, Z52 combined all of the cooling options and fast ratio steering, as well as Bilstein shocks in a slightly softer suspension. This proved to be a very popular option, finding its way into near half of all of the Corvettes produced for these two years.

It's a bonus to have a Z51 or, in some years, a Z52 or Z07 car. They usually have fluid coolers in addition to the extras Pete mentioned. The fast steering rack alone is worth the price of admission so to speak. A base car will keep your hands very busy on an autocross course.

If you find the right car and it isn't Z51 the rack can be swapped out for a few hundred, but the lower rear axle ratio is something you really want to have even in a base car because it's not so easy for most of us to change the rear gears out ourselves. Look for RPO G92 on the build sticker.